The Boston Red Sox have not been doing themselves any favors on the field or in the front office.
The Boston Red Sox have, arguably, been the most disappointing team in baseball. There’s not a person in the baseball world that would have projected that any team other than the Baltimore Orioles would be in last place in the powerhouse that is the AL East.
Instead, the Orioles have been a surprisingly good team at 64-58 while the Red Sox enter play on Wednesday with a record of 60-63 and seven games back of the third and final American League Wild Card spot. That’s why the club has less than a two percent chance at making the playoffs, according to Baseball-Reference.
Entering trade deadline day, though, the club was at .500 (52-52) and only three games back of the final AL Wild Card spot and that was because the front office did not make good moves to help the team at the deadline. Even if they decided to be sellers, they didn’t do that well either.
Here are three trade deadline regrets that have killed Boston’s postseason hopes in 2022.
Red Sox: 3 trade deadline regrets
1) Not trading for a starting pitcher … or three
Before the trade deadline, the Red Sox desperately needed some help in the starting rotation. They have had a slew of injuries there, including to Nathan Eovaldi (before and currently), Rich Hill, Chris Sale, Michael Wacha, and a handful of others. Nick Pivetta has made 25 starts on the season and no other starter has made more than 18.
Before the trade deadline, their cobbled rotation was atrocious too. From July 1 through August 1, they had an ERA of 6.73, which was the worst in the American League and second-worst in the majors to the Nationals. Since the deadline, their starters have an ERA of 4.75 … which is still the worst in the American League.
This is the league that has three teams that are on pace for 97 or more losses. Their rotations have not been as bad as the Red Sox in the last seven weeks.